Saturday, January 19, 2013

Minnesota Wild Packed Some HEATley Against the Avalanche

Article written by Sportmentary - Editor in Chief Sportmentaty Online Sports Talk
The Minnesota Wild got off to a slow and sluggish first period against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. That was to be expected. This was their first period of this shortened season. The second period was the complete opposite of the first. The Wild were on fire in the second period. It was their power play that propelled the team to victory. Last year the Wild couldn't buy many breaks on the power play as they finished ranked 27th in the NHL in that category.

If tonight is an example of what's to come it looks like the Wild's power play will be on fire. Tonight and in the second period the Wild leaned on Dany Heatley who scored two power play goals. That was a great effort from Dany. The Wild never looked back after the second period as they scored three out of their four goals in that frame.

If the Wild organization had any concerns about smaller crowds this season those concerns were put to rest. Fox Sports North mentioned that the crowd for tonight's game was the sixth largest in team history. That's amazing and shows that Minnesota is truly the state of hockey.

Now back to the game. Just prior to the lockout the Wild picked up the two biggest free agents in 2012's free agency field. It was an amazing coup. The players that were signed were Zack Parise and Ryan Suter. Zack had a decent night tallying two assists.

The Wild will score more goals this season. The top line of Mikko Koivu (2 assists), Danny Heatly and Zack Parisse (2 assits) still need to gel and create some chemistry. That won't take long and when they do it's going to be fun to watch.

Heatley had something in common tonight with last season. He was the Wild's top scorer. After tonight's game Wild fans can expect a great season from Heatly. Being paired up with Parisse and Koivu has to be a great feeling for Dany. It sure is for Wild fans.

The guys showed what they can do on the power play tonight. They were on fire. That's huge. Being able to score goals on the power play can be the difference for a team having a great night versus having a horrible night. That was evident on Saturday night.

The Wild have a lot to build on from tonight's game. They got the opener out of the way and the fan base is energized and ready to go. This will be a fun season. I'm going to predict that the Wild will make the playoffs this season.